High hopes for the Cwmdu Car Club
The Kent Cams/Simpson Race Exhausts British Autograss Series moves northwards this weekend to the historic Cwmdu Car Club.
After a brilliant opener in South Wales that potentially marked a turning point in the standard of Series’ meetings, the host club this weekend are more than capable of sustaining the quality that could make 2013 something of a landmark, and have decades of experience to draw upon.
The club can trace its history from its formation in 1959 as the Cwmdu Jalopy Club, through being a founder member of the Western Grass Track Car Racing Association in 1966 and the British Jalopy Racing Association (B.J.R.A) in 1970. It was only when NASA was formed in 1974 that they changed their name to the Cwmdu Car Club and became part of the West Midland League, as they still are to the present day.
This season is the silver anniversary for the club at ‘The Ovals’ in Kington, making it one of the longest established circuits in the sport. The venue has gradually improved over the years, and we are told by a number of drivers who have already raced there this season that the circuit is in brilliant shape, offering many different racing lines on an interesting, old-school surface that serve as an excellent test for both driver and machine. For spectators too, the large hill on the startline/pits bend offers one of the best vantage points of any track from which to watch the action.
As with Round One, the only non-BAS registered drivers that are allowed to take part are those from the league to which the host club belong, and in the West Midlands league – Severn Valley, Ludlow, Hereford and Border Counties are the other clubs – there are a large number of potential entrants that could make this another excellent meeting in this year’s Series.
In the Men’s classes last time out, Will Elford, Martin Gould, Rob Corbett, Jabez Smith and Phil Cooper all took maximum scores in Class Two, Three, Four, Five and Seven respectively, while among the Ladies it was Michelle Arnett, Trish Simmonds-Grant, Nicola Jesse, and Laura Blaber, in the fearsome V8-engined machine, who put 231 points to their name, and will be looking to continue their good form at Cwmdu. However, the forecast looks like creating a rather different environment to the dry, dusty conditions in South Wales as a cloudy weekend of showers and light rain looks increasingly likely.
As usual, we’ll endeavour to keep you updated on our Facebook page and on Twitter; follow @basautograss for updates as the weekend progresses. MotorMedia will also be providing more sensational in-car footage from the weekend, so be sure to check Facebook and on here for all the news and features.
Main: Class Eight racer Cameron Mills, winner in South Wales, is one of the drivers on home soil at Round Two and the favourite of many for a Men’s Nationals win in August (photo: Dan Moffatt).